The ISM Manufacturing Index is based on surveys of 300 purchasing managers nationwide representing 20 industries regarding manufacturing activity. It's condidered as the king of all manufacturing indices. It covers indicators as new orders, production, employment, inventories, delivery times, prices, export orders, and import orders. A figure below 40 is traditionally recognized as indicating a recession in the economy as a whole while a reading above 65 indicates strong growth. A strong figure is positive for the US currency, although investors will want consistently high figures across all sectors. Empirical work has shown that significant surprises in the ISM Index are correlated with stock price movements.